Wall Street Journal is top read for US engineers

According to a recent survey, engineers and construction professionals in the USA read The Wall Street Journal more than any other publication.

According to a recent survey, engineers and construction professionals in the USA read The Wall Street Journal more than any other publication.

They also read Time Magazine, Engineering News Record, their city dailies and several trade publications on a regular basis.

Out of 736 responses to a June survey conducted by EPCglobal, a recruitment and staffing solutions firm focused solely on the engineering and construction industries, 120 respondents reported that they read the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis.

Time Magazine is also a popular source for information - it received 116 votes - and 95 respondents selected Engineering News Record as a frequent read.

Next most popular regular read was the city daily.

The daily with the most responses was the Houston Chronicle.

Tied for second were The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, The Washington Post and The Washington Times.

Tied for third were the San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune; and in fourth place were The Tampa Tribune and The Daily Oklahoman.

Also receiving multiple write-in votes were The Cincinnati Enquirer, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Arizona Daily Star, The Denver Post and The Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Several trade publications received substantial votes: 50 respondents said they read Power Engineering International frequently; Civil Engineering Magazine received 31 votes.

23 respondents said they read Builder and Developer Magazine on a regular basis, 10 reported reading Roads and Bridges frequently.

Of the publications that received write-in votes, Telephony was the top read and RCR Wireless News came in second as most popular.

Third was Telecommunications Magazine.

Other publications that received multiple write-in votes included CE Weekly, The Economist, various Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) publications, Power Magazine, various Bechtel publications, Oil and Gas Journal, Welding Journal and Computer World Magazine.

Almost 29% of those who responded to EPCglobal's poll reported that they had experience in telecommunications.

The second most popular fields of expertise were power engineering and industrial/manufacturing, both capturing 25.5% of the vote.

Next was petroleum/chemical, with almost 24% of voters claiming expertise in that discipline; those with experience in buildings made up 23% of the voters.

Almost 19% of those responding were civil infrastructure professionals.

Also responding to the survey were oil and gas professionals (almost 17%), and those with experience in water (12.5%); environmental engineering (almost 11%); mining and metals (almost 6%); and railways (more than 1%).

Almost 14.5% of respondents marked their areas of expertise as "other".

EPCglobal boasts a very experienced candidate database; of those who responded to this poll, more than 67% reported 10 or more years of E and C work experience.

Almost 20% said they had 6-10 years of E and C background.

A little more than 9% of respondents reported 1-5 years of experience; almost 2% were entry level, and 3.5% gave no response to this question.

The engineering and construction professionals polled were well paid.

Nearly 15% reported an annual salary of $60,000-$70,000, and 14% said they made between $100,000 and $125,000 each year.

Almost 13% reported an annual income of $80,000-$90,0000; and just about the same number of respondents said they bring home $70,000-$80,000.

11.5% said they made between $50,000-$60,000; 10.5% claimed to make between $90,000-$100,000; and a little more than 7% reported an annual income of $40,000-$50,000.

4.5% said they made between $30,000-$40,000 each year, and a little more than 4% reported an annual income of $125,000-$150,000.

3.5% of respondents did not respond to this question, and 1.5% said they were in the $150,000-$175,000 annual income bracket.

Less than 1% reported annual incomes outside these categories.

Most of the survey respondents (more than 47%) were age 46 or older.

The second greatest group of respondents was in the 36-40 age bracket (almost 16%); 15% those responding were 41-45 years old and 11% were in the 31-35 age bracket.

More than 7% of respondents were between the ages of 25 and 30; about 3% did not report their age, and less than 1% of the group was 18-24 year olds.

More than 28% of survey respondents reported that they lived in the South.

About 15.5% were from the Southwest; 15% lived in the West; almost 15% hailed from the Northeast; and 14% were Midwesterners.

Almost 9% said they lived in the Northwest; 0.5% reported living in the Plains; and nearly 3% gave no response.

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